Return To Player - Chapter 9

Escape (3)

Hyun-Kyun felt like his brain was becoming a blank sheet.

Processing everything that had just suddenly happened.

‘The quest difficulty increasing? And what about that monster?’

He don’t know why the difficulty suddenly increased, and I couldn’t even think of a way to escape from that minotaur-like monster.

Seeing how he was chasing people who had just run away, it seemed impossible to escape at the speed of a human being.

“Eup, Eup Eup!”

If Dong-Gwon hadn’t struggled by making strange noises next to him, probably Hyun-Kyun would have been losing his mind.

“President.”

“Oh, yes, yes.”

Then, a familiar voice was heard from behind him.

It’s Sehan.

Looking at his face, his hardened heart seemed to loosen a little.

‘You’re calm even in this situation.’

He thought he was the kind of person who judged the situation rationally, but he felt that he was lacking compared to Sehan in front of him.

He felt it from the first time they met, but Sehan exudes a strangely relaxed atmosphere.

Even in a situation where he was suddenly attacked by monsters and the world’s values changed overnight, he was still calm.

Sehan looked at the sky for some reason and then said in a low voice.

“I’ll be the bait.”

“…… Yes? Bait?”

“If the situation stays like this, we will be annihilated by the Minotaur. So someone needs to get its attention and distract it.”

That’s right.

The Minotaur’s charge just isn’t something that people can stop even if we work together.

“You don’t have to do it….”

“Then, is there anyone else who wants to do it?”

None.

He didn’t even have to look around.

There was no one here who could even stare straight at the Minotaur let alone willingly attract its attention.

“Sehan Oppa.”

Jisoo, who is holding Dong-Gwon, frowned.

Sehan just nodded his head, but he didn’t say anything.

That was upsetting.

She wanted to tell him not to do it, but she couldn’t.

Even if she was the one who told him not to, it didn’t look like Sehan would listen to her.

‘He seems to have some kind of plan….’

The Sehan she knows is neither a character to sacrifice for others nor a person who will do reckless things.

However, I have no idea how he would overcome this situation.

“Ha….”

Jisoo sighed and looked away.

She looked away feeling frustrated, but when her eyes met with Dong-Gwon, who she was holding onto, she felt irritated.

‘Tsk, so annoying.’

When Sehan said that he was going to be the bait himself, Dong-Gwon’s stopped struggling, and that made her frown a little.

‘Like a chicken instead of a pheasant.’(T/N: #1)

The quick-witted Jisoo had noticed Dong-Gwon’s intentions to some extent.

It was thanks to Sehan that his plan had failed.

Dong-Gwon was planning to kill everybody in the auditorium and receive additional rewards.

But things don’t go the way he wanted them to, so he was wishing that Sehan, who ruined his plans, would be killed by the monster.

And Jisoo’s speculation was very accurate.

‘It’s a pity that I can’t monopolize the rewards, but there’s nothing I can do about it.’

Dong-Gwon looked at Se-Han.

The one who ruined his plan by acting in vain.

‘Using the Minotaur might be dangerous for me too, so let’s step back first.’

It’s not like there’s only one main quest.

Although the initial start was ambiguous, he himself was chosen by God.

He can get ahead at any time.

“Ha… Then there is nothing I can do.”

Hyun-Kyun had a genuinely apologetic face.

He couldn’t stop Sehan from becoming the bait.

If no one sacrifices, everyone dies.

‘Honestly, I’m not sure how much time he’ll be able to buy.’

Considering the people who have just died, the time he can earn may be only a few seconds.

However, looking at Sehan’s confident appearance now, he somehow gained some confidence.

Hyun-Kyun nodded his head.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll leave it in your hands, Mr.Sehan, thank you so much.”

At that, Sehan avoided his gaze for some reason.

And after a small cough, he said.

“When I give the signal, lead the people and run.”

“All right.”

There was no time to delay.

No one knows when the Minotaur will attack.

Sehan took off his top and held it in his hand.

Then he slowly broke away from the group.

One, two.

Hyun-Kyun took a deep breath and met Se-Han’s eyes.

“Come.”

Sehan shook his shirt slowly.

Like a matador waving a flag.

“Rooaaaarkhhh!”

Sehan, who suddenly left the group, waved a piece of cloth, making the Minotaur’s eyes turn red.

Thump! Thump!

The sound of the floor reverberated like thunder.

“Run!”

At the same time as Sehan’s shout, the Minotaur shot forward.

Hyunkyun also shouted loudly.

“Everyone, run to the entrance!!”

“Hi, Hiik!”

The people who were frozen began to run.

Some, who were unable to move properly, were supported by others or run on their stomachs.

“Quick, quick, quick!”

Hyun-Kyun also supported those who fell.

He shouted at the people so that no one was left behind.

[You have acquired the skill ‘Commanding Shout’.]

He heard an additional unknown alarm, but it didn’t matter.

‘What about Mr. Sehan?’

The speed at which people ran away wasn’t that fast. When he looked at Sehan, feeling nervous, Hyunkyun had no choice but to open his mouth.

‘….What is that?’

Minotaur was a formidable monster.

With each charge, the buildings on its sides were mercilessly smashed.

It was as if a dump truck was going through the buildings.

Even in such bloody circumstances, Sehan was unharmed.

“How can he avoid that?”

It’s ridiculous.

Sehan’s movement wasn’t that fast.

However, the Minotaur’s attacks can’t hit Sehan at all.

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, Hyun-Kyun raised his gaze to the presence he could feel in the sky.

Something round was flying.

There was something like that while he was in the auditorium.

They had always been in Hyun-Kyun’s head, but now they were watching Sehan.

“President!”

As he stared blankly at the sight, he heard a voice calling him.

Yeah, now’s not the time to get distracted by that.

Hyun-Kyun ran.

His breath hit his chin, but he did not stop and ran desperately.

[You have cleared ‘Main Quest 1’!]

[Your quest achievement is ‘Gold’ grade.]

[The rewards will be distributed soon.]

“Huh, huh…….”

I succeeded.

As soon as I left the campus, I heard a loud sound of firecrackers and several notification windows appeared.

‘I lived.’

At such a heartening moment, I was reminded of Sehan, who was still fighting the Minotaur.

Since he was the last of the group, Sehan must be the only one remaining in this group.

Thud!

“Ugh?!”

With that thought in mind, the moment I turned my back quickly, I bumped into something.

“What is this?”

The moment he left the university, a transparent film began to form at the entrance of the campus.

Stopping the players from going back in.

After leading all the people, Hyun-Kyun’s face paled as he was about to return to help Sehan.

“Mr. Sehan! We’re all out! Come on out!”

Touching the blue membrane with his hand, Hyun-Kyun shouted.

As if hearing Hyunkyun’s cry, Sehan, who was dodging the Minotaur’s attack, looked back at him.

He looked like he was about to be pushed to the limit.

“Mr. Sehan!”

Whoom!

A harsh hitting sound was heard, and Sehan’s model was blasted away like a broken puppet.

He was hit by the Minotaur’s fist.

“Ahh!…….”

Hyun-Kyun looked at the scene with a dazed look.

As he watched the Minotaur rush in the direction Sehan flew, he looked away, unable to watch anymore.

Woong.

In addition, the color of the membrane grew darker, so he could no longer observe the situation inside the university.

“….”

The thought that Se-Han’s death was his fault lingered in his mind.

When he lifted his head with a chaotic mind, he saw Ji-Soo staring at him.

Knowing that Jisoo was with Sehan. And seeing that Jisoo, who is reluctant to get close to men, was with Sehan, he thought that they might have a special relationship.

So Hyunkyun lowered his head and said.

“I’m….sorry.”

Of course, Ji-Soo did not respond.

In my previous life, I wasn’t particularly righteous.

Rather, I was closer to evil than good.

And nothing much has changed.

So, when I heard Hyun-Kyun’s heartfelt thanks, I cringed a little, so I avoided my gaze.

‘But I guess…it wasn’t too bad.’

In my previous life, I had no power.

I can’t say I didn’t have talent, but there were plenty of players who were more talented than me.

So I had no choice but to become heartless and mean in order to survive.

Because I wanted to live.

So how did it end?

‘In the end, everything was destroyed and I alone survived with nobody by my side.’

And I realized that and returned.

“Ouch…It hurts a little.”

I slowly climbed through the pile of stones and got up.

There were so many observers watching, so I did a little bit of acting.

I invested a whopping 94 points in my stamina the moment I was about to get hit, so there were no major injuries other than a few bruises, but from the standpoint of the observer, they would think that I had died.

‘And now.’

The observer was nowhere to be seen.

It seemed that I could comfortably deal with the Minotaur now.

“Moo?”

Seeing me standing up looking almost completely unscathed, the Minotaur looked at me with a questioning gaze.

I was struck by his fist and flew away, hit by a charge, and got buried in concrete.

It was a blow that should have killed me dozens of times if I was an ordinary human, but I was unharmed except for a few scratches.

“As expected, all of your current stats are in a counter-stop state.”

The current stat limit in this main quest is F (100).

So the Minotaur’s abilities were just that.

‘Have I ever fought face-to-face with an opponent like this in my previous life?’

A sentinel is made in such a way that no ordinary player can kill it.

In my previous life, I avoided having to fight it as much as possible, and if I had to fight it, I fought with the intent to flee.

To survive, regardless of who I needed to sacrifice.

It’s not that I’m any different now.

But.

“I don’t want to do that again.”

Boom, boom boom!

The Minotaur stretched his legs again and again.

Like a runner in a race.

“Mmmmmmm!”

He didn’t care how I got up.

He just moves to kill the opponent in front of him.

Because it was here for that purpose in the first place.

Boom!

When the Minotaur stomped heavily, the block of sidewalks under him instantly shattered and flew away.

He stretched out both hands recklessly as he saw it flying like a chariot’s shell.

[You have used 83 points to increase your ‘Strength’]

[Your ‘Strength’ stat has reached the limit for this quest.]

Qua Qua Qua Qua Qua qua!!

When I grabbed the horn of the rushing Minotaur, my body slid backwards.

The attack blew away broken debris and slashed blocks of sidewalks on the ground.

But I didn’t get blown away.

His strength and mine are the same F(100).

It was an equal situation, but the Minotaur who rushed in had the advantage.

But I was confident that I would win.

==
Hobgoblin’s Girdle
Strength increases by 10 points. This number is not affected by the main quest limit.
==

Because my strength was F(110), not F(100).

It was just 10 points, but the difference was a ‘wall’ that could never be crossed.

The rush stopped.

“Mmh?”

Seeing that he was stopped, the Minotaur’s bright red eyes became those of a cow.

Those eyes looked at me, clearly perplexed.

That I, a tiny human, stopped him head-on.

“I won.”

As I spoke softly, the Minotaur’s eyes widened.

Pud Pud pud pud pud pud pud!

“Mghh, mmhh!”

I put all of my strength into my hand that grabbed the Minotaur’s horn.

The Minotaur struggled to escape but was unsuccessful.

‘Cause I’m stronger than you.’

Woo Jijik! Kwajik!

“Hmmm?!”

The two horns snapped.

I pierced the Minotaur with his thick horns, pressing his broken horns into his head, and kicked him with all my might.

Quaang!!

Its gigantic body flew several meters and destroyed a building.

It’s something I would’ve never been able to do in my previous round.

A single player who is heartless and only cares about himself.

Such a foolish criminal on the border of the extraordinary and the ordinary.

Doing something that I can never do.

“But this time it’s different.”

I am not lacking at all now.

There was the power to make up for my scarce talent.

“So.”

For this round, I want to become a hero.